Process for constructing dry-mounted walls

ABSTRACT

A process is described for constructing walls. A moving wall is constructed in the process that is able to move, hindering earthquakes and major thrusts. The process eliminates the use of binders and locking joints and includes positioning elements using diamond configurations and grooves and pins which, when in place, never block the elements but, in case of thrusts, leave them free to move in alignment with axes of the wall.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a § 371 national phase application ofPCT/IT2018/050213 filed Oct. 30, 2018 entitled “KIT FOR CONSTRUCTINGDRY-MOUNTED WALLS,” which claims the benefit of and priority to ItalianPatent Application No. 102017000137660 filed Nov. 30, 2017, the contentsof which being incorporated by reference in their entireties herein.

BACKGROUND

The benefits of the dry-mounted self-standing walls assembled in adiamond configuration, that is the inclination at 45° of the internalfaces of the elements from the horizontal plane, have already beendisclosed by previous patents, mainly U.S. Pat. No. 3,238,680 to Blairand U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,506 to Henderson, which illustrate in detailvarious benefits and advantages, as well as the way to implement it inthe field. These patents have the main aim of facilitating andstandardizing the processes of construction and reducing their relatedproblems. The solutions disclosed by these patents do not tackledirectly the possibility of optimizing the resistance of their productsto earthquakes that could compromise their utilization. Actually, theyprovide indirectly to this problem the standard solution of blocking theelements once in place by grouting the elements, such as described inthe Blair Patent, or by creating male and female joints shaped in orderto completely block any movement once constructed in place, as describedin the Henderson Patent. Furthermore, the complexity of all previoussolutions make their industrial production expensive and jeopardizetheir diffusion.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to the field of construction and masonrytogether with the field of construction toys, but not the only ones.From these fields, terminology and examples are taken, with anexplanatory and non-restrictive aim.

The main objective of this invention is the creation of a kit for theconstruction of dry-mounted walls having an innovative modality ofresistance to earthquakes.

Another innovative characteristic of this invention is the form of themodular element, which allows the easy and cheap creation of any singlepiece, making industrially profitable its production.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed uponclearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Furthercharacteristics, features, and benefits of the embodiments describedherein will become evident after the clarification of the detailedillustration of figures.

FIGS. 1-3 are perspective views of a modular element having groovesrunning along an entirety of the upper faces thereof

FIGS. 4-6 are perspective views of the related finishing elements to beused for the basement (FIG. 4), for finishing lateral edges (FIG. 5), orthe top (FIG. 6), obtained by splitting the elements.

FIGS. 7-8 are perspective views of a modular element having groovesrunning partially along the upper faces.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the beginning of the construction of thewall starting from the lateral pillar and the finishing elements.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a pillar having four faces withvertical grooves as female joints.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the beginning of the construction ofthe wall starting from the lateral pillar with the finishing elementsand a first row of modular elements in place.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a process for constructing walls,where the traditional concept of self-supporting wall being a solid andcompact structure is abandoned.

We get this through the elimination of both the binders and the lockingjoints, the positioning of the elements using the diamond configuration,and the creation into the elements of a system of grooves and pinswhich, when in place, do not block the elements, but keep them free tomove, for instance, in the case of thrusts or quakes, always alignedwith the axis of the wall, along the system of transversal planescreated by the surrounding elements with the diamond configuration.

This transversal planes transform any sort of thrust into an upwardstransversal thrust, always hampered by the force of gravity and theweight of the structure. At the end of the stresses, the force ofgravity will reposition each element in its original position, at thecenter of the wedge created by the underlying elements, using the sametransversal planes.

The act of repositioning the elements along the transversal planes backto their original position utilizing the force of gravity is part of theimprovement described herein and it is not possible on horizontal planesand if elements are locked.

In addition to creating an extremely ergonomic basic element, functionalto the purpose and industrially reproducible, various benefits of thisprocess of drywall construction is found in the identification,definition, and use of four conditions, all desirable and sufficient tocreate what we could call a “moving wall,” or a wall that “must” be ableto move to hinder the seismic shakes and the major thrusts in a way thatis innovative in the process of building vertical walls.

These four conditions are:

1) the shape of the elements and their correct positioning,

2) the shape of the grooves and pins that, while avoiding the lockingjoints, maintain their function of guide,

3) the diamond configuration of the elements, which allows the creationof wedges and transverse planes and the consequent absence of horizontalplanes, which are identified as a major problem to be avoided in thisconstruction technique, and

4) the dry construction, free of binders and free of locking joints,which prevents the solid welding of the elements once in place, keepingthem in a static equilibrium.

The result of this invention is a dry-mounted wall, assembled in adiamond configuration composed of modular elements, their relatedcompletion elements and the containment bars and pillars.

The modular element is a six faces parallelepiped having a squared orrhomboid base. The height of the parallelepiped, when positioned, willbe the thickness of the wall and its basis will constitute the twofacades of the wall. In the diamond configuration, the two diagonals ofits basis are disposed vertically and horizontally. When in its finalposition, the element has two external parallel faces placed vertically,two internal faces laying upwards and two internal faces layingdownwards. Into two contiguous internal faces, two pins are inserted pereach face, disposed at the same height and at the same distance fromtheir closest external face, symmetrically (see, e.g., FIGS. 1, 2, and7).

The two opposite contiguous internal faces have two grooves each, layingsymmetrically in correspondence of the pins which are on the oppositefaces (see FIGS. 1, 3, 7, and 8) from the edge in common between the twofaces, these grooves run along the faces in parallel with the externalface of the element, for its entire length (FIGS. 1 and 3) or just tothe height of their matching pins (FIGS. 7 and 8). These grooves willalways be slightly wider than the thickness of the forecasted pins, andslightly deeper than their height in order to not block or stress orpress or strain anyhow the pins when the elements are assembled in theirfinal position of static equilibrium. The force of gravity and thefriction between the elements in the diamond configuration will grantthe stability of the wall. The pins, together with the friction betweenthe opposite faces, will hinder the thrusts avoiding the misalignment ofthe wall along the axis of the facade. When assembling the elements,both faces holding pins have to face upwards or both downwards and inthe same way for all the elements of that wall. For technical reasonsthe number of pins, their shapes, materials and/or dimensions may vary,provided that the corresponding grooves are matching the selected pins.

These characteristics make the production of the elements extremelycheap. The initial form to be created is a plain six faces block, intowhich you just have to carve the grooves and to insert the pins. Withmany materials grooves may be already forecasted when preparing the moldand, for materials such as concrete or conglomerates, pins may bereplaced by metal bars inserted into the mold, having one extremityremaining external to form the pin and the internal part utilized toreinforce the concrete. When using materials such as wood, pins allow toreduce wastage due to the carving and increase the resistance of themale joint in front of thrusts and stresses; for wood, so much as formany other materials, a pin inserted in an element, even if the two ofthem are composed of different materials, provides a much higherendurance in front of thrusts and stresses than a pin carved from thesame piece. The specific materials utilized for pins and for elementswill determine dimensions, profile, shape, height, and thickness of thepins.

In an example, the modular element is a square basis block withdimensions 70×70×100 mm (millimeters), excluding pins. Its volume is 490cc (cubic centimeters), excluding the variations due to pins andgrooves. The four internal faces measure 70×100 mm and 100 mm is at thesame time the length of the basis of the internal faces, the length ofthe vertical section and the thickness of the element when in itscorrect position. The two external faces measure 70×70 mm, and theirdiagonals both are 70L/2, that is 98.9 mm, which can be considered as100, because of the tolerances of materials. Therefore, vertical andhorizontal sections in place can be considered as 100×100 mm. The volumeof almost half a cubic decimeter and the 100×100 mm section make easymany evaluations and rough calculations also for unskilled labor. Due tothe diamond configuration, any layer of elements will raise the wall by50 mm and its 100 mm thickness can be increased by 50 mm a time byplacing aside entire elements or halves of them, alternately. The dryconstruction technique makes all these measures compatible with those ofthe constructions requiring mortars or binders, so allowing the use ofall the finishing, the tools, and the accessories already in use in theconstruction sector.

The squared basis, the element dimensions and the proportions betweenits parts may be varied in case of technical or aesthetic needs.

Grooves are 10 mm large and their depth is 20 mm; any of them is 20 mmdistant from its closest external face and 40 mm distant from the othergroove. The external part of pins is 8 mm thick and 19 mm high. Apartfrom minimizing the production costs, the form of these elements, theshape of their joints, and the diamond configuration allow an innovativereaction of the structure to earthquakes.

In a compact construction quakes release their energies over the weakestpoints of the structure. In this kit of construction, the wall does nothinder the shake as a compact ensemble. On the contrary, any singleelement remains free to move; the enormous earthquake forces areparceled in vectors aligned to the form and the positioning of theelements and they discharge their forces on any single element, causingtheir movement. The dry building technique allows the pieces movement,and the specific play created by pins and grooves forces elements toslide like cars over their rails, uniquely in a direction aligned to theaxis of the facade and transversal to the ground due to the diamondcomposition, while the two parallel grooves minimize the possibility ofswinging and the risk of misalignment of the single elements, which areforced to slide and climb along the planes created by the contiguouselements, transforming all the strains into transversal and ascensionalthrusts always hindered by the force of gravity that, at the end of thequakes, will reposition any single element at the center of its wedge inthe diamond composition, bringing back the entire structure in theoriginal position of static equilibrium.

The downwards positioning of pins and the upwards positioning of groovescontribute to lower the barycenter of the element and help its balanceduring movements. The weight of the structure, the undulatory anddiscontinuous nature of the shakes and the continuous detachments of anysingle element from at least one of the contiguous ones, will tend toparcel and hinder constantly the effects of the thrusts and the wallwill react to earthquakes in a way which is much more similar to thereaction of gravel terrains than the reaction of the compact ones,dispersing the forces instead of discharging them against the weakestpoints.

Apart from the earthquakes, in which forces and thrusts are exceptional,the wall will maintain all the characteristics of static equilibrium andstability given by the dry-mounted building with diamond configurationalready illustrated in the previous patents.

Finishing elements: being the modular elements set in a diamondconfiguration, finishing elements are junction elements connecting themto the basement (FIG. 4), to lateral pillars (FIG. 5) and with the topof the wall or the ceiling (FIG. 6); they are also used to create doors,windows or technical holes for cabling or plumbing; they are obtained bydividing the modular element along one or more of its axes; their use isof immediate understanding (FIGS. 9, 10, and 11). The section in twohalves along the plane parallel to the external face results in twosymmetrical pieces that can be used to enlarge the thickness of thewalls by multiples of 50 mm. These finishing elements may haveadditional pins along the faces obtained by the splitting, allowing theanchoring to the facing elements (FIG. 5), or allowing to satisfytechnical needs (FIGS. 9-11).

Containment elements: they are polygonal pillars into which otherelements can be anchored or leant. Different from the rest of theconstruction, they can be fastened to the ground or to the basement. Oneor more lateral faces have male or female joints matching those of theelements used. In the case of grooves, they will run vertically and theyare intended to transform the transversal thrusts into vertical onesallowing the finishing elements to make a vertical sliding movementwhich will lift the element, avoiding the possibility of being crashedby other elements, uplifting its contiguous elements upwards and sodischarging its lateral thrusts. As closing elements, U-shaped bars canbe used, having joints or not. These bars have been already illustratedand they are part of the state of the art.

Many variants of the modular elements can be forecasted, such as twodifferent elements, one with all male joints and one with all femalejoints, to be laid alternately, or having other variants with more thantwo different elements having different shapes, creating differentconfiguration with the same sort of joints, grooves and pins and withouthorizontal planes, always allowing any element to move, remaining withinthe perimeter of the invention.

Dimensions, colors, the sort of material utilized, the fact of beinginternally empty or compact or having any sort of holes, cavities orcanalizations, the fact of being homogeneous or stratified or composedby one or more materials, all these are irrelevant details for thefunctionality of the process over which we claim the protection of thepatent and may vary as per the needs or the requests.

All the elements utilized in the work should have dimensions,proportions, faces, joints, contact faces and profiles that must becompatible and matching with the modular element utilized; therefore forany modular element “A”, it will be necessary to create a “Type A” setof finishing elements having all the requested characteristicscompatible with “A”. In future development of this building technique,the possible variety of elements will multiply, designed to solvespecific problems or aesthetic necessities, always remaining in theperimeter of the invention.

As per what we have explained until here, it seems evident that theprocess reaches its goals. The manners of the process may haveinnumerable variations, all within the border and the perimeter of theinvention and included into the attached claims. Any detail can bechanged with other elements technically equivalent and materials will bediversified as per the local needs without going out of the protectionof the requested patent. Even if elements are described referringspecifically to the attached figures, the figures themselves and thereference numbers used in the description and in claims have to besolely intended as mere means for better understanding the process andthey are not intended to put any limit to the protection claimed withthe requested patent.

1-6. (canceled)
 7. A method for constructing a self-supportinganti-seismic modular structure from a kit, comprising: providing thekit, wherein the kit comprises: at least one polyhedral bar; a pluralityof modular elements having a parallelepiped shape and a base having asquared shape or a rhomboid shape; and a plurality of junction elementsobtained by sectioning the modular elements along one of the diagonalsof their external faces; wherein the at least one polyhedral bar, themodular elements, and the junction are adapted to be connected andassembled together and wherein the modular elements and the junctionelements have bases suitable to be oriented parallel to the force ofgravity when assembled into the self-supporting anti-seismic modularstructure; wherein at least one of the modular elements, at least one ofthe junction elements, and the at least one polyhedral bar comprise atleast one female element or at least one male element on a face thereofrespectively, shaped so as to be coupled to a male or female element ofa contiguous element; wherein the at least one female element has ashape of a groove and the at least one male element has a shape of apin, the pin being adapted to be inserted and to slide loosely along thegroove once in place; wherein, in the modular elements and in thejunction elements, the groove runs parallel to a base of a polyhedron;and wherein, in the at least one polyhedral bar, the groove runsperpendicular to a base of the at least one polyhedral bar; andconstructing the self-supporting anti-seismic modular structure from thekit in a dry-mounted manner such that no binding agent or joint is usedin construction of the self-supporting anti-seismic modular structure,wherein constructing the self-supporting anti-seismic modular structurefrom the kit further comprises assembling the modular elements and thejunction elements in static equilibrium with a diamond configurationalong a plane parallel to a direction of the force of gravity; whereinsingle ones of the modular elements and the junction element areconnected with play to contiguous elements remaining free to move alsoonce in place; and wherein all faces of the modular elements in contactwith faces of other ones of the modular elements or the junctionelements identify reciprocal sliding planes transverse to the directionof the force of gravity.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at leastone polyhedral bar is one of a plurality of polyhedral bars.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising: assembling all of the modularelements in a diamond configuration by having the polyhedral barsvertically placed at their sides aligned with axes of a wall and thejunction elements in between.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein theself-supporting anti-seismic modular structure is further assembled fromthe kit by inserting pins of any of the modular elements or the junctionelements into a groove of a contiguous element or bar.